Improvement in wrenches



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J. H. DOOLITTLE, OF DERBY, ASSIGNOR 'IO HIMSELF, rAND FRANKLIN FARREL, OF ANSONIA, CONNECTICUT. v

IMPROVEMENT IN WRENCHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,971, dated July 22,1862.

' tion thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this ap- Vplication.

My invention relates to a novel kind of pipe-wrench,7 or wrench for grasping and turning pipe or other cylindrical objects; and my invention has for its object a simple form of wrench which without any complication or adjustment of parts shall be capable of lirmly grasping and turning pipe (or other round lobjects) of various diameters or sizes; and to these ends my said invention consists in constructing awrench ofa simple angle-iron, one leg of which isroughened or serrated, the other smooth, as hereinafter fully described.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now describe the same, referring byletters to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, and in which- Figure lis a perspective view'of one of my improved wrenches. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the center of the same. Fig. 3 is an elevation ofa modification of my invention; and Fig. 4 embraces partial side views ot' a wrench, illustrating its application to large and also small pipe, and particularly referred to hereinafter.

In the-Wrench shown at Figs. l and 2 a single piece of metal is employed with one end bent over at B to form an angle, fr y z. One

leg of the angle c is serrated or toothed, as seen, while the other, d, is left plain or smooth. I make the angle x y z between thirty degrees and forty degrees; but the angle is not material so long as it is such as will grasp the object properly. i

At Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown the wrench formed with a fork, C, and handle E. The latter may be made of wood and attached in the same manner as that of the ordinary screwwrench, if desired. In this modification the grasping-angle, it will be observed, is the same as in the other, though bearing a different relative arrangement with" the handle portion of the tool.

At Fig. 4 A and a represent twodifferent sizes of pipe, the largest and the smallest, upon which the same (angle) wrench operates perfectly. Freni this ligure it will be seen that one of my wrenches of the size in the drawings will grasp any size pipe from A down to a.

Previous to my invention various constrnctions of pipewvrench have been suggested and employed, in all of which there are adjustable or movable parts, (or both,) to enable the tool to operate upon different-sized pipe. I have discovered that asimple angle-that is to say, two fixed surfaces arranged at an angle with each other less than a right angle-with one of its legs roughened will firmly grasp any diameter of pipe around which it may be placed, and by making a wrench embodying this idea I produce a tool which is more simple, economical, and desirable than any heretofore made for the same purpose.

It is obvious that my invention is subject to various modifications, all of which I desire to be protected in. I have said that one of the legs .of the angle is smooth; but it will be un derstood that although it is only necessary to roughen one of them the other may be rough too without impairing the effectiveness of the wrench. I prefer to have'oneleg smooth, because it will work perfectly and is in other respects more desirable than when made otherwlse.

Having described my new wrench, and not wishing to limit myself to any particular mode of embodying the principle of the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- Y A wrench formed with an angle, substantially as hereinbefore described, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal this 21st day of April, 1862.

J. H. DooLiTfrLE. [n s] In presence of GEORGE BRIsToL, J. KELLINGBECK. 

